1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a toothbrush with a special head that provides improved removal of dental plaque while massaging and stimulating the gums without injury to these tissues.
2. The Related Art
There is a rich literature available on toothbrush design. Many different types of approaches have been reported in the patent literature to improve cleaning, gum stimulation and mouthfeel.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,080 (Pifer) prescribes an arrangement where an outer row of tufts on each of the left and right sides of a head diverge away from one another. These outer rows are also inclined away from a central row. Broad spacings are left between adjacent tufts to allow the bristles to achieve full lateral flexing without interference that would normally occur with closely packed adjacent tufts.
A similar concept is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,588 (Kobler) wherein a massage head is formed from a series of conical teeth in rows divergently angled away from one another. This concept is also found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,509 (Huish) that describes a double sulcus toothbrush having two groups of sulcus bristles that diverge at an angle relative to one another.
Alternating adjacent tufts of perpendicular and inclined bristles are reported in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,020 (Hills), U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,322 (Nicolas) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,213 (Curtis et al.). A commercial embodiment of the latter patent is produced by the Colgate-Palmolive Company under the Precision trademark.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,054 (Rauch) reports a brushhead with parallel slits separating outer rows from central inner rows. Length of bristles in the outer rows are approximately one third greater than that of bristles of the center rows. At least one embodiment illustrates a curvilinear arrangement of an outer row of bristles.
Back molar teeth are reported to be more readily cleanable in U.S. Pat. No. 1,369,966 (Cosens et al.) through provision of a front tuft of greater length than those rearward. Longitudinally, the head is formed concave while transversely it is convex.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,570 (Hitzman) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,569 (Eguchi et al.) describe brushheads with tufts whose heads have been angularly cut. The angular cut concept is also illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,260 (Michaels).
Oral-B Laboratories sells a toothbrush under the Advantage trademark. This toothbrush has a head with a group of tufts near the front area which are of greater length than those rearward towards the handle. Free ends of these tufts have been trimmed at an angle which describes a plane inclined towards the rear. Tufts rearward of the front group alternate in length to form what is advertised as an action cup.
There have been many innovations in this area as can be seen through the technology of the above briefly described patents. Nevertheless, there remains room for improved models.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush which efficiently cleans teeth to remove debris and bacterial plaque.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush that can stimulate gums in an optimum manner so as to prevent gum disease without injuring the gums.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can impart a unique mouth sensation signaling to the consumer effective cleaning and providing a tactile massage effect.